This $10 Million Jewellery Shipment Just Proved India’s UK Deal Works

The first real proof that India’s new trade deal with the United Kingdom is working arrived in the form of jewellery. A consignment worth about USD 10 million was shipped to the UK as the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into force, involving 27 exporters from six major jewellery centres. All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) chairperson Rajesh Rokde called the shipment ‘a historic milestone for the Indian gems and jewellery industry,’ one that would lift exports, investment, employment and India’s standing in the global market.

The shipment was made possible by CETA’s tariff cuts: gems and jewellery duties fall from 4% to zero under the new agreement. Elsewhere, tariffs on pharmaceuticals drop from 8% to zero, on iron and steel from 10% to zero, and on textiles from 12% to zero, with 99% of India’s tariff lines entering the UK duty-free from day one and agricultural products getting 95% duty-free access on agreed lines.

In Nagpur, traders are moving quickly to capture the opening. The Nag Vidarbha Chamber of Commerce (NVCC), representing 13 lakh traders in the region, said the pact would change prospects for its members. NVCC former president Ashwin Mehadia said, ‘Now that exports from Vidarbha to the United Kingdom are starting with reduced tariff, new avenues of international trade will open for traders in Vidarbha and the region will see greater economic growth.’

NVCC vice-president Swapnil Ahirkar said the region already has a diverse export base to build on, listing rice, pharma, textiles and minerals among products shipped from Vidarbha, alongside a growing services export sector. NVCC secretary Hemant Sarda said stronger export infrastructure would help the region convert the tariff cuts into real gains: ‘Trade agreements like CETA make products from here competitive,’ he said.

Speaking at the CETA announcement event in Mumbai, principal secretary (industries) P Anbalagan said close to 300 district export promotion council meetings had already been held across Maharashtra, drawing about 1.5 lakh participants and extending the export drive to districts such as Gondia and Bhandara beyond the traditional industrial belt.

Trade between India and the UK currently stands at nearly USD 56 billion, with both sides aiming to double it by 2030.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons / Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (GODL-India)